STATE LEGISLATORS CONSIDER MEAP REPLACEMENT
LANSING, Mich. — Legislation introduced last week in the state
Senate would replace the high school Michigan Educational
Assessment Program (MEAP) test with a version of a college
entrance test.

The plan is a part of a larger reform effort targeting the MEAP
tests, which are used to measure student progress for state and
federal purposes. "People question the validity of the (high
school) test and wonder whether we should be using it," state
Sen. Wayne Kuipers, R-Holland, chairman of the Senate Education
Committee, told the Detroit News. "Do we stay with what we have
or move forward? ... That is the issue we need to explore."

Although the legislation does not specify which college entrance
test would be used, many supporters, including the House
Education Subcommittee on Standardized Testing and Assessment,
say the best choice would be a form of the ACT test.

Those opposing the bill say that even though problems with the
MEAP exist, they do not warrant replacement of the current test,
as recent changes to the test's administration will reduce flaws
such as delays in reporting students' scores to schools.

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "POLICY BRIEF: Which
Educational Achievement Test is Best for Michigan?" May 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4382

BUSINESS LEADERS SAY EDUCATION NOT HELPING FUTURE OF ECONOMY
CHICAGO, Ill. — Some business leaders say that the lack of
emphasis on basic skills in education is hurting the U.S. economy, as students from elite institutions graduate without
necessary skills for working in a corporate environment.

Students lacking skills critical in a business environment will
be the eventual leaders of the U.S. economy, hurting the nation's
progress in the long run. "I find the English language skills,
reading ability and mathematics ability of most people who have
gone to reputable schools to be atrocious," Edward Studzinski, a
money manager from Chicago, told the Chicago Tribune.

Eighth-graders in the U.S. lag behind students the same age in
several Asian countries in math and science. This gap will affect
the dominance of the American economy in the future, says
Studzinski. "The real danger is that the American economy stops
evolving and simply matures," he said.

SCHOOL SELLS NAMING RIGHTS FOR EXTRA FUNDS
BROOKLAWN, N.J. — A New Jersey school sold naming rights to its
gym and library to gain extra capital to help grapple with a
deficit, and may sell the naming rights to the school itself on
eBay to the highest bidder.

This form of creative fund-raising is not common among grade
schools, but the Brooklawn district superintendent says it will
become more accepted with time. "A lot of smaller districts are
fighting for their survival. What we're doing here is going to be
the norm in 10 years," said John Kellmayer.

In addition to its current sale of naming rights in the school,
Kellmayer says he is considering the option of auctioning off the
rights to the school's name on eBay, an auction Web site.

"Anything a school can do to be entrepreneurial, so much the
better," Dana Egreczky, a vice president of the New Jersey
Chamber of Commerce, told CNN.

Many educators have expressed concern that the law requires
schools to spend too much money to meet federal standards
implemented by the law and limits state control of education.

But, said Paige, "It's a different era.... You can see the
changes in the educational culture. Our schools were doing a
wonderful job providing a world-class education for some
children. But not for all of them. It's become a civil-rights
issue."

Calls by politicians to change the law in Congress will likely
not be heeded, said Paige; "No Child Left Behind" forces schools
to look at the needs of every individual student, a positive
effect of the law. "We're in this for the long haul. It's not
going away, and anyone who thinks that is mistaken. This is a
bipartisan effort."

HOUSE REPUBLICANS INTRODUCE PLAN TO REGULATE LENDERS' PROFIT ON
STUDENT LOANS
WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Republicans will introduce a plan to
regulate the amount of money lenders can earn on student loans as
part of an overhaul of federal student aid programs.

Currently, loans are repaid to banks and schools by the federal
government. Occasionally, student loan rates set by the
government are lower than market rates, so the federal government
makes up the difference to lending institutions. But when
students pay over the market rate for loans, lending companies
keep the difference. According to legislators supporting the
proposed regulation, that money should be handed over to the
federal government to be used for other student aid programs.

In addition to the plan to alter student loan payback by the
government, some House Republicans want to change a program that
allows students to consolidate college loans at a fixed rate,
with the government making up the difference when market rates
rise above the fixed rates. The cost of that program increased
more than three times in 2003 to $2.1 billion from $650 million
in 2002.

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (
http://www.educationreport.org), a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (
http://www.mackinac.org), a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.